Erik ten Hag sets new embarrassing record as Man Utd boss edges closer to the sack
Manchester United's defensive frailties were clear for all to see during their six-goal thriller in Porto as Erik ten Hag saw his team set an unwanted stat with goals against them easy to come by
by Samuel Meade · The MirrorManchester United's defensive issues were exposed as Erik ten Hag saw an unwanted record set on his watch.
The Red Devils conceded three in Porto as they return home with a share of the spoils. It came after they had gone two goals up before the Portuguese outfit scored three unanswered goals - and it could've been far more as the hosts had a plethora of chances.
The game at Porto was the 31st time since the beginning of last season that the Manchester outfit have conceded two or more goals. That is more than any Premier League team across the same time period as their defensive woes continue.
Last term Ten Hag saw his team concede with regularity - which led to some embarrassing defeats as they were regularly cut apart by teams. Some of that was down to injuries as several senior players found themselves sidelined at the same time.
This year though there can be few excuses with numerous new faces coming in - Matthijs de Ligt among them - throughout the summer. Despite those recruits it has still been easy to score against the Red Devils with Liverpool and Tottenham both leaving Old Trafford with 3-0 wins.
Ten Hag though insists his side are more than capable of defending - pointing to a recent run of clean sheets - and maintains it is just a case of them getting back into good habits.
He told TNT Sports: "So we had three clean sheets not so long ago, so we can defend well, but we have to go back to those habits and then we can win games."
The United boss also maintained that he and his team will come good despite their poor results and the noise surrounding his future. The Dutchman has won trophies in his two seasons at the helm and remains resilient.
"We will get there, don't judge us in this moment, just us at the end of the season," he said. "We are in a process and we will improve. We had two seasons in finals, just wait, we will develop this team. We will continue to work, we will fight, you see the spirit and the connection with the staff and the team."
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